WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. and
CHICAGO, Oct. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Farmer
sentiment toward the agricultural economy improved slightly in
September as fall harvest kicked off, according to the latest
reading of the Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.
The barometer read 101 for the month of September, up just six
points from the August reading of 95. The current reading is well
below the barometer's peak of 112 in July.
Survey respondents remained more optimistic about the future
conditions in the livestock sector than crops, but most said they
don't actually expect widespread good times in either sector, said
Jim Mintert, the barometer's principal investigator and director of
Purdue's Center for Commercial
Agriculture.
"Interestingly, the gap between expectations for good times in
crops versus livestock has narrowed quite a bit since late 2015,"
he said. "For example, in fall 2015, the percentage of respondents
expecting good times in livestock over the next five years exceeded
the same reading for crops by 11 percent. In the period between
July and September 2016, the average
gap was just 7 percent, suggesting that expectations of strong
profits in livestock production have diminished."
Another key takeaway from the September survey is that farmers
plan to store more of their crops at harvest than is typical -
something Mintert said is likely attributable to farmers'
reluctance to sell their crops at prices that are sharply lower
than earlier this summer.
Producers surveyed indicated that they have been less aggressive
than usual in pricing the 2016 crop. More than 40 percent said that
they have priced a smaller portion of this year's crop than they
would in a typical year.
"These results suggest not only that demand for storage this
fall will be very strong but also that producers expect positive
storage returns for their fall 2016 crops," Mintert said.
The barometer's Index of Current Conditions and Index of Future
Expectations offered a more detailed view of what is driving farmer
sentiment. While both indices increased in September, the
difference between the two tells more of the story, Mintert
said.
The Index of Future Expectations came in at 109 in September,
nine points higher than the base-period value of 100, and is the
second-highest reading observed since the start of 2016. The Index
of Current Conditions, however, read 83 in September, and was the
fourth-lowest value since data collection started in fall 2015.
"What this tells us is that agricultural producers are
pessimistic about the current conditions in agriculture, but they
continue to express some optimism about future long-term economic
prospects," Mintert said.
The Ag Economy Barometer is based on monthly surveys of 400 U.S.
agricultural producers. Read the full September report, find
additional resources and sign up to receive monthly barometer email
updates at http://purdue.edu/agbarometer.
About the Purdue University
Center for Commercial Agriculture
The Center for Commercial Agriculture was founded in 2011 to
provide professional development and educational programs for
farmers. Housed within Purdue
University's Department of Agricultural Economics, the
center's faculty and staff develop and execute research and
educational programs that address the different needs of managing
in today's business environment.
About CME Group
As the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace,
CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) is where the world comes to manage
risk. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global
benchmark products across all major asset classes, including
futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes,
foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals.
Around the world, CME Group brings buyers and sellers together
through its CME Globex® electronic trading platform and its
exchanges based in Chicago,
New York and London. CME
Group also operates one of the world's leading central counterparty
clearing providers through CME Clearing and CME Clearing Europe,
which offer clearing and settlement services across asset classes
for exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivatives. CME
Group's products and services ensure that businesses around the
world can effectively manage risk and achieve growth.
CME Group is a trademark of CME Group Inc. The Globe Logo, CME,
Globex and Chicago Mercantile Exchange are trademarks of Chicago
Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and the Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of the
Board of Trade of the City of
Chicago, Inc. NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and
ClearPort are registered trademarks of New York Mercantile
Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange,
Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners. Further information about CME Group
(NASDAQ: CME) and its products can be found at
www.cmegroup.com.
CME-G
Photo -
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161003/414736-INFO
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/producer-sentiment-moderates-continues-to-favor-livestock-300338767.html
SOURCE CME Group